Lose It All
by DarthBubbles
Summary: Sequel to TORN. Ahsoka and Carter struggle to keep their relationship alive in the waning days of the Clone Wars. Will Order 66 ruin everything they've worked so hard to build? Lux and Ahsoka? Overrated. Carter was there first :D
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, here's the first chapter of the sequel. I hope you guys end up liking this one as much as you liked Torn. I can't tell you much about what's gonna happen, but I _can_ tell you that the whole mood of the story is gonna be a _lot_ angsty-er than Torn was. First Chapter is really short, but I promise the next one is longer. Bear with me. :)**_

* * *

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Chapter 1

Separation

Ahsoka Tano flicked her wrist, her green lightsaber flying into her hand and activating simultaneously. With one expertly executed swing, three of the ten battle droids threatening her squad were down. She smiled grimly.

__

'This is almost too easy now,'

she thought, throwing her lightsaber to cleanly cut through the control panel of one droid while using the Force to slam one into the ground. She paused for a split second to switch her weapon to her off hand, wipe her sweaty palm on her pant leg, and switch back, rotating her lightsaber so that it was held in her signature reverse Shien grip. Leaping forward, she sliced through a sixth droid, then flipped backward, tucking her knees in like she'd been told, and let Rex and his boys shoot down the rest.

She turned to the squad of clones that her Master had placed her in charge of. Briefly, she remembered a time when being put in a position of leadership caused her to lose confidence. But she'd matured since then. "Come on, boys, we're blowing that factory today. I'm not spending my sweet sixteen in a war zone. Instead I'll be celebrating it tomorrow on Coruscant. You understand me?"

She received a wholehearted "Yes, Ma'am!" from the men.

Smiling encouragingly, she added, "And you'll all be celebrating with me. Not one man is getting left on this scrap heap of a planet." She waved her arms around to gesture at the junk piles of Raxus Prime, driving the point home.

Her sweet sixteen. It was a day she'd been looking forward to ever since her fifteenth birthday, ever since she realized that her birthday meant a day off, a whole day to be with a certain someone. The ring he'd bought her only a year before shone on her right hand finger as if to prove that. And if she had to be stuck on Raxus instead, she'd go insane.

She increased their pace, leading the troops closer and closer to their target: a large factory located within the scraps that created repair supplies for the Separatist dreadnaughts. So far, the mission had gone on quite well. No deaths, easy enemies, and a simple objective that she kept repeating in her head to remind her of how straightforward her task really was. _'Get in, plant explosives, get out, boom. Get in, plant explosives, get out, boom…'_

"Ma'am?"

She stopped and turned. "What's up, Rex?"

He just pointed ahead. Ahsoka followed his finger with her eyes until she saw small smoke puffs not even one hundred yards away. They'd found it.

Her birthday seemed to be looking better than ever.

* * *

The sound of a blaring siren woke Carter Draik. The sixteen-year-old Jedi Padawan groaned, pulling his pillow down over his head in an attempt to try and block out the sound and squeezing his eyes shut. He reached over to the nightstand next to his bunk and fumbled for the alarm clock, slamming his fist down on the snooze button several times before realizing that the sound wasn't stopping. He cracked one emerald eye open to glance at the time. "Stang, Master, I said I wanted at least an hour of sleep!" Carter defiantly rolled over and attempted to block out the noise and go back to sleep, but he was already awake. With a sigh, he rubbed his tired eyes and for the first time saw the flashing red lights.

At the same time, he could hear a clone's voice over the ship's intercom. "All hands to battle stations! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"

Carter bolted upright, now wide awake. He stood and shrugged into his leather battle tunic frantically. Forgetting about his pitch-black hair, which was sticking up in every which way, he summoned his lightsaber with the Force and sprinted out the door of his quarters and up to the bridge where his Master waited.

Kento Marek was busily shouting commands to the crew to pay any attention to his Padawan at first. Outside the front viewport, Carter could see the first wave of enemy fighters incoming, and the Republic's first retaliation: a small squad of dogfighters.

"Master, what happened?" Carter asked. "I thought this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission!"

"It was," Kento muttered. "Then they shot us."

"So what're the odds?"

"Just one ship, pretty even when it comes to numbers, odds in our favor skill-wise," Kento finally turned to face his Padawan, his grey eyes showing slight excitement from underneath his hood. "Take your squad, destroy the ship."

"Got it," Carter said with a grin. He knew the inside of a Separatist ship like the back of his hand now. Just outside the main hangar was the control room, with all the systems keeping the life support, engines, and shields up. All he had to do was get in there and blow the place up.

He turned away from his Master and jogged down the bridge towards the hangar. Carter nearly swelled with pride when he saw his customized Delta 7 fighter sitting in its designated spot, red and blue designs decorating the exterior. He smiled and turned to a group of clones, his personal squadmates, and motioned towards the fighters. "Crash! Niner! Edge! Time to take down that ship!"

One of the three, whose hair was spiked in every direction, a dark brown color up to the very tips of the spikes, where they were a bright yellow, smiled at his Commander. "What took you so long, sir?"

"The usual, Crash," Carter replied.

Niner ran a hand over his goatee. "The usual _excuses_, you mean."

Edge chuckled, scratching at the spot on the back of his neck where a krayt dragon was tattooed. "Yeah, you heard the alarm just like everyone else; you're in the same boat, Commander."

"Just get to your ships," Carter grinned.

"Yes sir!" they all replied with salutes.

As they sprinted for their ships, Carter could make out Crash mumbling, "Thought he'd never ask."

Carter grinned and strapped into the pilot seat of his cockpit. Glancing down at the dashboard, he smiled at the holo he'd taped there. It had been taken only a few weeks before, the last time he'd seen her, and it always brought him hope everytime he looked at it. He saw himself, smiling not at the camera, but at the Togrutan girl whose waist his arms wrapped around. One of her hands rested behind his neck, while the other was partially buried in his hair. "Tomorrow, Ahsoka," he whispered, lightly pressing his lips to the holo before lifting off to destroy the ship.

"You alright, sir?" Edge asked. "You seem sorta spacey."

Carter just grinned at the holo again before taking his place at the head of the squadron. "Couldn't be better."

* * *

"Move!" Ahsoka shouted, sprinting at full speed just ahead of the clones, toward the factory's exit. She leapt onto one of the speeder bikes waiting outside, glancing back to make sure that her men were nearby, and shot off. Glancing down at the timer on her wrist, she pushed the speeder to maximum power. Behind her, Rex sped along on a STAP he'd stolen from the Separatists.

"Ahsoka! Time?" he asked frantically.

She looked down again. "Ten seconds!" she replied. "Get as much distance between us and that soon-to-be scrap heap!" Looking back, Ahsoka counted heads. Six. Okay, all accounted for. For now.

The explosion came quicker than she'd anticipated, the shockwave bucking her off her speeder bike. She remembered how Carter had shown her to land, and she rolled into a ball, aiming her right shoulder towards the ground. She started to roll just before impact, and the motion absorbed the shock. So the impromptu lesson on Ataru actually did help her out.

"Report!" she yelled, brushing herself off and checking for personal injuries. Her shoulder was bleeding from scraping it during her roll, but otherwise she was fine.

"Rex, checking in!" she heard her friend say, coughing a bit.

The other six responded in the same way. Aside from one clone who'd been temporarily deafened in one ear from the blast and was now holding a gloved hand up to the side of his head to relieve some of the pain, no one had been seriously injured. Ahsoka smiled as she saw the LAAT/i gunships coming to pick them up. "Mission success," she said. "Nice job, boys. Go get some rest."

"What about you, ma'am?" Rex asked, pulling off his helmet and smiling.

"I gotta get home, remember?"

"Right, then. See you next mission then?"

"You can count on it." Ahsoka turned and started to walk towards her fighter, which had been flown down by her faithful droid, R3-K4.

"Ahsoka!"

She turned on heel and gave Rex a questioning look.

"Happy Birthday."

She grinned. "Thanks, Rex."

She was finally going to see Carter again. It was going to be a very happy birthday indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

**WARNING: Serious Fluff Overload Upcoming...**

* * *

Chapter 2

Sweet Sixteen

Ahsoka tapped her foot impatiently, a motion that went unnoticed in the moderately busy Coruscant spaceport. She longed to see Carter, and now that his fighter had finally landed, she could hardly bear the wait.

"Blasted security checks," she muttered to herself. If there hadn't been a war currently ongoing, Carter's going through security wouldn't have had to take so long. But with the mass of confusion and deception when it came to determining what side someone was on, the precautions had been jacked up outrageously.

She pulled her datapad out and checked for messages. There were several 'Happy Birthday's, and Carter's last message, which she refused to delete because of how sweet she thought he sounded. Finding nothing else new, she glanced down to read it again.

_Hey, 'Soka. Happy birthday. I'm on my way, we got held up over Alderaan, had to blow up a ship. You know, the usual stuff. So anyways, if I'm late, that's why. I think you know by now that I'd never skip out on you, so I ain't worried about you getting mad at me. Can't wait to see you. I miss you like crazy right now. The few hours I have left to wait are killing me. But when I get there, you can bet I won't leave your side until you push me away. :) Love you, beautiful.  
-Carter_

She sighed dreamily as she reread the last sentence over and over again. The ache for him in her heart intensified, but she kept her mind on the fact that he was only minutes away. The datapad buzzed, and she glanced down at the new message, another from the man she loved.

_Look up._

She did, grinning widely, expecting him to be there. When he wasn't, however, the smile disappeared, replaced by a look of puzzlement.

Suddenly, strong, tan arms snaked around her waist from behind, and Ahsoka felt soft lips press against her cheek. She laughed and turned around in his arms, staring into the emerald eyes she had been longing to see for all of two seconds before she pressed her lips to his, her fingertips finding their usual place in his soft black hair. They pulled apart to breathe, and she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. For a long while, they just held each other.

"Hey," Carter said with a slight chuckle. "Happy birthday."

"Yes it is," she murmured into the crook of his neck. "Now that you're here."

His arms tightened around her slightly, and she could almost hear the grin in his voice. "Well that sure makes me feel good about myself."

She pulled back far enough to press her mouth against his for a fleeting second. "Don't let it get to your head."

"Force, I missed you," he whispered, capturing her lips again.

She reluctantly pulled away from the kiss to reply. "Missed ya more," she said with a smile. Their lips met in several short kisses before Carter finally pulled out of the embrace and slipped his hand around hers.

"Come on. Let's go have fun on your sweet sixteen. Right now, though, I think we're putting on a display so sweet it might make these people around us puke Uj Cake."

Ahsoka laughed, stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek, and pulled him through the crowds. Almost instantly she realized that today was going to be better than she expected.

Just the feel of her hand in his as they ran, carefree, across Coruscant's walkways for no reason but the sake of being together made Carter feel whole again. All he wanted, all he needed, was right next to him. He could easily drop this life as a Jedi for her, but he knew that it wasn't the right thing to do.

Ahsoka slowed to a stop, out of breath, which Carter was grateful for; he'd started to feel a cramp in his side anyways. They just stood there, hand in hand, panting with exertion. When she'd finally caught her breath, he moved, capturing her lips in a kiss. His lips lingered longer than usual, and when he finally pulled away, he was surprised to feel her arms yank him back down for more.

Her lips trailed across his jawline, dancing around his mouth for a bit before she connected their mouths with more force than he'd ever felt from her before. Startled, he ignored the desire he had to continue and pulled back. "'Soka. _Stop._"

She breathed heavily. "I... I'm sorry. It's just that..."

He silenced her by pulling her into his arms, letting her bury her face in the crook of his neck. It wasn't easy being a teenager in love while pretending to follow a Code that outlawed it, and he guessed it was even harder for Ahsoka, whose Togrutan predator instincts made the urge harder to resist. "Someday..." he whispered. "I'm gonna marry you, Ahsoka. I don't care what the Code says, it's gonna be done."

"That's impossible, Carter! To hide something that big from the Council? It's already hard enough to hide our current situation from them!"

"It's happened. My Master... remember?"

"But he's a full Jedi Master! I don't... we're just Padawans, Carter, we can't shield our minds from them, not when we aren't that powerful yet."

"I'll find a way, I promise." He dug into his pocket for a moment, loosening his embrace. Ahsoka pulled back and slipped her hand into his, pressing her lips gently against his cheek as he frustratedly tried to find by feel what he was looking for. He finally found it, pulling out a simple necklace, a locket, to be exact, and placed it in her hand. "Happy birthday, by the way."

She looked at the locket, shaped like a heart, the words I love you engraved on the front, and smiled. "It's beautiful..." she said quietly, in the voice she used when overcome with emotion. Carter grinned. She thought it made her look weak, but he secretly loved it when she was able to cry in front of him, just for the sake of being able to be there for her when she stripped down the walls of toughness she often enclosed herself inside. Ahsoka opened the little compartment, and inside was a tiny holo of the two of them, lips pressed together blissfully. She looked up, a lone tear in her eye that he could tell she was struggling to hold back. "Carter, you don't know-" He stopped her in the middle of her sentence by bringing their mouths together once again, just like in the picture, and holding her there.

"I do know. I know you more than I know myself, Ahsoka. And I know that I will always, always love you."

Ahsoka sighed as she flopped down on the sofa to watch a holo with Carter. He was just too perfect, and it was all she could do not to wonder how she had gotten so lucky. As his arms tightened around her waist, she looked up at him. "I wish you could be around like this all the time."

Carter smiled. "Me too." His attention focused back on the holo, full of fight scenes and gore, yet not too appealing to Ahsoka. She didn't mind, though. Just being with Carter was better than any holo she could have asked for. She'd missed him too much over the long tours of duty. Their separation by the Council seemed almost intentional. In fact, she was sure that it was. After the dilemma they almost went through, the Council was wary of their feelings for each other. The only thing that kept the Masters from separating the two was Yoda and his constant insisting that there was no need to worry. Nobody questioned the Jedi High Master, though they all knew that Carter and Ahsoka's relationship was more than friendship. The only question they had, which they reluctantly decided to follow Yoda's judgment on, was _"How much more?" _

Carter's lips on Ahsoka's forehead brought her attention back to the present, where it should have been in the first place. "What?" she asked, leaning into his chest further.

"You just sorta seemed out of it," he said. "Something on your mind?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied. "Just us."

"Us?" he asked, smiling a little. "That's a pretty big topic."

"Well, let me sum it all up for you." She turned around in his lap and slid her hand into its familiar place behind his head, crushing her lips to his. He instantly gripped her face, returning and deepening the kiss.

"Oh, Force, Ahsoka," he breathed. "I love you." He kissed her again. "I love you, I love you, I love you." He held her tightly, pressing his lips to her cheek in gentle kisses.

"I love you too." She breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of his cologne. "I don't regret my decision one bit."

"So I've noticed. And apparently, the Council has, too. I heard Master Skywalker's been trying to promote you to knight for a while now, and they don't want you to because of me."

"I'm sure that's not it. They probably just think I'm not ready for the responsibilities of being a General in the war."

"How could anyone think that you're not ready? You already command like a general, Skywalker's put half his men under your sole command, he treats you more as an equal now than as an apprentice. The public _loves_ you, you're the one who gives them hope. I mean, it's all 'Commander Tano fighting for all of us back home!' whenever you're gone on duty. You're a legend among even the recruits. The Council is just wary of _us_. I don't want to keep you away from that."

"Carter, I'd slide down to the bottom of the food chain here to keep you. Don't even start to think that I'd put a stupid rank over love."

"That's the problem," he muttered. "That's why the Code forbids attachments. We promised that we wouldn't let our feelings for each other get in the way of duty to the Republic. When we decided to do this, that's what we swore. And right now, the Republic needs you as a General, and our relationship is getting in the way."

She shook her head. "Just... calm down. Okay? We'll figure out a way to get past this."

"Calm down? 'Soka, there's an entire galaxy out there about to fall off its hinges! And I'm the reason it's happening. I'm keeping the hero they need from saving them!"

Ahsoka sat up, pulling away from him and angrily looking him in the eye. "Don't even start on that! You know that's not it."

"Yeah, I do. And I feel like I gotta do something about it!"

"Well, you aren't going to! Like it or not, Carter Draik, the universe doesn't solely depend on you. We can win this war whether I'm General Tano, Commander Tano, or just plain Padawan Tano, and you know that!"

"Even with your promotion to general, the outlook won't be great. The Seps outnumber us. While we're breeding clones for years, they're cranking droids out of factories in minutes! If we win this war, it'll be a Force-blasted miracle."

"Then I figure you have nothing to worry about." She stood up.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "What did I say?"

"I just need some air, calm down Flyboy." She started for the door, and then looked back at him. "Don't follow. Please. I need some time alone."

_"My life belongs in a soap opera," _she thought bitterly to herself


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N: I honestly love love _love_ Carter/Ahsoka interaction in this chapter... :)**

* * *

Chapter 3

The Beginning of the End

Kento Marek jerked the steering yoke roughly to the right, sending his Delta-7 fighter into a sharp roll to evade enemy fire. He glanced at his scanners, following the small yellow blip on the screen that represented his Padawan.

"Carter, stay in formation," he ordered over the comm.

"But that frigate looks weak," Carter's voice replied, defiance surfacing in the tones.

"Our mission is not to destroy the frigate, keep that in mind. We just need to provide backup for Kenobi and Skywalker to get the Chancellor."

"Master Skywalker's on that dreadnought?"

Kento ran a hand through his hair annoyedly. "Were you _not_ listening during the debrief?"

"Well... I..." Carter's tone was defensive as he obviously searched for an appropriate excuse, before it became defeated. "No," he admitted.

"He's going to be on the ship. I don't think he's quite made it there yet, last time I checked with his clone escort, he and Kenobi were having some trouble with buzz droids. Listen next time, please!"

"I will, Master. Is Ahsoka with them?"

"No, I don't think the Council felt it was the best idea for a Padawan to join in on such a critical mission. You're here because you're just part of the backup team."

"Oh, good."

"_Good?_" the Master thought to himself. "Doesn't Ahsoka prefer not to be judged by her rank?" Kento asked confusedly.

"That's right," Carter replied. "Why?"

"I was just wondering-" Kento paused to send a missile at a passing vulture droid, smirking to himself at the resulting explosion, "-why you'd think it's a good thing for her to be judged yet again like that."

"No, it's not that. It's just that she's safer planetside, you know?" Kento glanced out the transparisteel of his cockpit to watch Carter go into a spinning nosedive to avoid two missiles trailing after him, strategically causing them to crash into a nearby bomber.

"Don't let your feelings get in the way of duty, Carter. Mallie and I both understand that the Jedi come before personal interests."

"I'm not, Master, don't worry. But it's alright to worry about her safety, isn't it?"

"It's okay to care. _Not_ to worry," Kento corrected sternly.

"But I-" Carter sighed. "Yes, Master."

The sound of static cut the conversation short. "General!" the voice belonging to all clones reached Kento's ears, and he had to look down at the projected image to realize which of his men it was. He should have guessed it would be Greer, for he was the one left in charge of the Master's flagship while he was gone.

"What is it, Greer?"

"_Premium_'s been hit, Sir. Any more fire and we're as good as dead. Orders?"

Kento's decision was fast, precise, and strategic. Exactly what made him a good General. "Send the rest of the pilots to their ships, then pull back. The _Premium_ can't help much in its current state other than take up space, and we can't afford to lose a ship that big."

"Sir? Where will the pilots go if the _Premium_'s hangar isn't available?"

"We're right above Coruscant, Greer. We'll just find a place to land planetside."

Greer saluted smartly. "Yes, Sir!"

The communication faded away. Kento spun around and fired at a Separatist fighter that had been on his tail, smiling triumphantly as his shots hit home. Carter's voice brought his attention back to Grievous' frigate.

"Master, is that supposed to be happening?" He asked, slightly worried.

The ship was falling toward Coruscant. Fast. Kento frowned as the second half of the ship disconnected from the first, drifting off into space. "No," he aswered tersely. "So we'd better hope Anakin's at the helm of that thing."

* * *

Anakin smiled down at his Padawan. "So, which part do you think was the coolest? Me defeating Dooku or landing that hunk of junk at a moment's notice?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at her Master's gloating. "I like how you let Grievous get away," she teased back.

Anakin frowned. "Hey, I can't do everything perfectly. I blame Obi-Wan for that one."

"Of course you do," she laughed.

"Speaking of perfection, I need to see you in training room C this afternoon. Your blaster bolt deflection needs some work." He smiled and nodded toward her leg. She glanced down at the poorly bandaged injury and scoffed.

"I figured Rex had killed that guy."

"Yeah, you need to work on making sure of your surroundings instead of guessing at them as well. I'm afraid only experience like this can teach you that, though." Ahsoka rolled her eyes again, without amusement this time. "And don't give me that attitude." He began to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"Council Chambers. They wanna speak to me about something. No idea what, though,"

As soon as he was out of earshot, Ahsoka keyed her comlink. "Okay, Flyboy. I'm clear."

"Turn around, then," he said.

She followed his orders, and there he was, bright green eyes smiling. They walked together for a while, making sure to hold back their desires and keep about two feet apart to lose suspicion, before Carter tugged her into a supply closet and closed the door behind them. Ahsoka closed her eyes as their lips met, remembering a time when such close quarters with Carter both unnerved and scared her.

"I heard you were in quite the battle," she said, referring to the battle over Coruscant.

Carter nodded. "Yeah. Didn't do too much, though."

"Doing something is still _doing_ something, you know?" she said positively, attempting to reassure him.

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled, eyes refusing to meet hers. Instead, they locked on the bandage on her thigh. "You're hurt."

"Don't worry about it. 'S not bad."

"Why didn't you tell me you got shot?" he said, calloused fingertips carefully brushing against the injury.

"It's not that big of a deal," she said with a shrug. "I'm not a baby, Carter. I can handle it."

"Well, you sure haven't taken very good care of it," he said disapprovingly. His gentle fingers began undoing her crude bandaging.

"Carter, it's fine. I don't need-" she began to object, but was cut off by a simple _shhh_.

He glanced up at her, green eyes compassionate. "Do you trust me?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Let me do this. At least so I can stop worrying about it."

She sighed and turned her leg to allow him better access. "Fine. But I don't see why you're working yourself into a fuss over it." Her flesh tingled as he carefully placed his hand on the inside of her thigh, using the Force to heal the wound as best as he could.

"I'm not _'working myself into a fuss,'_" he argued as he worked, gently and neatly re-bandaging the wound. "I just love you too much to see you damaged in any way."

"Damaged? Like I'm a thing?"

"No, damaged as in _hurt_. I'd do anything to keep you from that."

"Carter, we've already decided that duty comes first."

"I know, I know. But I can't stand the thought of living without you. It was bad enough when we were just friends, now it's ten times worse."

Ahsoka closed her eyes in frustration, resting her cheek on his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her. "I know what you mean, Carter. I love you, but I understand that if I'm called to leave you in a dangerous area, I _do it_. I just gotta trust that the Force will bring us together again."

Carter tilted her chin towards his. "I'd rather die first. I'll work on it, Ahsoka. But right now, I'd defy orders for you."

"That's _not_ okay, Carter. That's why Jedi aren't allowed to love in the first place. We decided we'd prove them wrong."

"Easier said than done."

"I'd be mad at you," she mumbled.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"If I wasn't so crazily in love with you, I'd be mad." A silent tear slipped down her cheek. "I just hope you'll get this sorted before you do something you'll regret." She reached a hand behind his head, tangled it in his pitch black hair, and pulled him into a gentle kiss.

"I love you," he breathed as they pulled apart.

She closed her eyes again. "I know."

Her comlink buzzed, and she pulled it out, realizing it was Anakin. "_Don't_ say a word," she warned Carter, before answering the call. "Hey, Master."

"Ahsoka, you're needed in the Council Chambers _right now_."

"For what?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"They wanna knight you."

She didn't speak after those four words. She couldn't find words at all. Finally, she forced out an "Okay" and closed the link.

Carter instantly enveloped her in a crushing hug, raining kisses on her forehead. "I am so _proud_ of you." He said with a grin.

She smiled. "They'd been telling me I needed more drive, but I guess I got it. I think it's because I've been fighting for you."

* * *

Three weeks later, Ahsoka stood proudly on the _Resolute's_ bridge as it hurtled through Hyperspace toward Kashyyyk. "Ma'am?" a clone called softly from behind her. She turned, the smile on her face fading somewhat when she realized it wasn't Rex. The Captain was still on Coruscant with Anakin, and her requests to have him moved to her unit were denied by Republic command.

"What is it, Swift?" she asked her XO. He ran a hand through short buzzed hair and nodded back towards the communications room. "General Skywalker wishes to speak with you."

Ahsoka nodded her understanding. "Thank you. I'll go talk to him immediately." She began the long walk to the communications room, closing the door behind her once she reached her destination before looking up at the blue hologram form of Anakin Skywalker. He smiled at her, and she couldn't stop the burst of pride she felt at the fact that she was no longer his underling, but his equal.

"Hey, Snips," he said cheerily, his voice slightly distorted as his signal struggled to keep up with the _Resolute_'s faster-than-light speed.

"Hi, Master. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Could be better, I guess, but we're at war. What do you expect? And you don't have to call me that anymore."

"Old habits die hard," she said with a grin. "So what's up? I'm pretty sure you didn't call me up just to chat."

"Well, the Chancellor has been putting a lot of trust in me, and he needs me here on Coruscant, so I won't be with the ground forces on Kashyyyk like command planned."

Ahsoka arched an eyebrow in a disbelieving look. "You _have_ to be kidding me. The entire battle plan depended on _your_ men taking that refinery!" She threw her hands in the air with exasperation. "What do you expect us to do now, Skyguy? Tell the wookiees, 'Sorry, the Chancellor had better things to do!'?"

Anakin folded his arms and gave her a stern look. "And _that's_ why I call you Snips. Let me explain before you go off on a rant."

"Fine, I'm listening."

"Now, _I'm_ not going to be able to be there with_ my_ men, but I told Republic Command that you had experience working with Kento and his men. They've reassigned the _Premium_ and her troops to take the place of Torrent Company. Better?"

"Is Carter with him?" Ahsoka couldn't stop the question before it was too late.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "And _how_ did I know that was going to be the first thing you said?"

She smiled embarrassedly. "Force intuition?"

"Oh, I figured it was young love I was sensing," he replied casually, giving her an amused look.

She'd always had the sneaking suspicion that he knew. But the fact that he'd just acknowledged it so openly both astonished and scared her. "_Please_ don't tell anyone!" she pleaded, sapphire eyes gleaming with intensity.

"Ahsoka, _relax_," he chuckled, holding his hands up defensively. "My lips are sealed. You're like my little sister, I wouldn't rat you out."

Ahsoka smiled. "Thanks, Master."

"But that doesn't mean that this war isn't real. You and Carter both face very real threats every day. That being said, you might want to talk to him before the _Premium_ ships out."

"Why then?" Ahsoka asked. "I mean, I probably would have done that anyways. But why rush me when I could talk to him after the operation is over? It won't take that long; we're just paving the way for Master Yoda's men to take over, aren't we?"

"That refinery is incredibly well-guarded, Snips. There's a pretty good chance that Carter might not be around to talk with after."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Assault on Kashyyyk

"Ahsoka, I _promise_ I'll be fine. Crash and Niner have my back, and I've survived a hundred battles up until this moment." Carter tried to make his voice sound as reassuring as possible.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes with frustration and fear. Carter wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms in that moment and comfort her with soothing whispers that it was going to be okay. But all he could do was bring a hand up and touch where her cheek would have been if the hologram were real.

"There are _ten thousand_ battle droids down there. And there are _twelve hundred_ in Raikou Company. And your squad is only four men strong, Carter! How can you be so sure with those odds?"

"Because I keep my promises. I promised I would be okay, and I promised I would never leave you. I'm not going to do either today, okay?"

Ahsoka closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "Okay. Be careful, please."

At this Carter couldn't help but flash a cocky smirk. "Aren't I always?"

"I mean it," she said, sense of humor apparently nonexistent in such a stressful situation.

"Alright, alright," Carter said quickly. "I will. But the same goes for you. I don't care if you're calling the air strikes and sitting behind the strategy table the whole time. Your ship's gonna be a target. Watch yourself, alright?" His green eyes flashed with concern.

"Alright," she said with a slow nod. She sighed deeply, wiping wetness from her eyes before smoothing her uniform. "I have to go…" she said, reluctant to close the transmission.

"It's fine," Carter reassured. "I'll see you after the mission. Make sure it's face to face, though." He gave her a grin.

She put on a grim smile for him. "Look, Carter... I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Seriously. I'm head over heels in love with you. You better come back. You hear me, Flyboy?"

"Yes, ma'am. I love you too, 'Soka. More than anything. And that's _why_ I'm coming back."

"Drop zone's only two kilometers away, sir," Crash said, using a gloved hand to flatten his spiky hair before sealing his helmet. "You ready?"

Carter nodded. "More than ever." He turned to face his squad, looking at each of the three clones as if he could see straight into their eyes through their helmets. "How are you three feeling?"

"Like I could take on the entire galaxy, Sir," Edge replied. He hoisted a heavy repeater over his shoulder as the LAAT/i prepared to drop them into the forest of Kashyyyk.

Carter grinned. "Good. Because you _can_ take on the entire galaxy. _We_ can. And we will. As a team."

"Yes, sir!" the three clones said in unison.

Their pilot opened the comm link. "Opening hatches in three… two…" Carter couldn't hear him say _one_ above the sounds of wookiees and droids doing battle not too far away. He took a breath, feeling the wind whip his hair across his forehead. He waited until the perfect landing zone was in sight before screaming, "Go, go, _go_!" and leaping towards the ground.

He landed lightly on the ground, lightsaber in his hand and humming instantly. Above him, Crash, Niner, and Edge made their way down, jet packs preventing any hard fall they might have experienced. Carter glanced around at his surroundings to make sure they were safe, extending his Force senses as far as he could ahead of them.

"Only a handful of droids guarding that back entrance the scouts spotted. And judging by larger energy emissions… a couple of tanks. Not sure if they are crewed at the moment or not."

"We should assume that they are," Edge said. "Expect the worst."

"Exactly," Carter agreed with a nod. "You guys have grenades; use them if you need to. But remember, this is a _refinery_. A stray shot could get all of us killed."

"Same goes for the Seps, though, sir," Niner said. "What happens if one of us is the only thing that's standing between a bullet and a fuel tank?"

"It won't come to that," Carter insisted.

"What happened to 'Expect the worst'?" Crash asked, amusement in his tone.

"It's not a possibility. My lightsaber will always get in the way of _any_ bullet coming for you guys. Now, come on. We aren't gonna get anything done standing here and debating. Move out!"

Three identical voices echoed "Yes, Sir!" before they formed up behind him. Carter began the short walk towards the base. The assault had begun.

Ahsoka frowned, narrowing her eyes at the beachside battle being holographically displayed in the strategy room of the _Resolute_. "Why are they fighting on such a broad front?" she asked, indicating the wide battlefield.

Swift glanced at her, confusion clear on his face. "What do you mean, ma'am?"

"Our forces, what with the size they are, would be much more effective if the Separatists were forced into a choke point and picked off bit by bit. Not to mention, their progress would slow. Less droids will have pressed forward, and more of their forces would be at the refinery when Carter- I mean, Commander Draik, sorry- and his men detonate the facility. When the place blows, so do the droids."

"Your insight is brilliant as always, ma'am," Swift said slowly, "but your point is moot unless there's a way you can shrink the battlefield to the size you intend." He chuckled a bit as he added, "I'm pretty sure that your Force can't work miracles of that extent."

Ahsoka allowed herself a small smile. "No. But Kashyyyk has plenty of trees. All we have to do is knock a few down in the right places."

The corners of Swift's mouth quirked upward as he caught on to what she was saying. "A few well-placed explosions should do the trick. I'll get to calculating remote detonator pack placements right away and then we'll make the call groundside."

"Great, she said with a grin. "Thanks, Swift."

"No problem, Ma'am. One choke point, coming up.

"Sir, droid platoon passing to the left," Niner whispered.

"Have they spotted us?" Carter asked as he squinted to look in the direction Niner had mentioned.

"Not yet, but they will if we can't find cover fast."

"We can take them out," Crash said quickly, tossing a droid popper up into the air and catching it with a flourish. "One well-placed toss, sir. You know I can do that with my eyes closed."

"No," Carter replied firmly. "We attack, we alert the rest of the base that there's something wrong." He brushed long bangs out of his eyes before continuing. "Follow me. _Quietly_." He dashed through the forest, winding around trees soundlessly. He stopped only when he was sure they were out of sight, waiting for his men to come running up behind him not long after.

"How far is the refinery _now_?" Crash asked annoyedly. "Now that we have most likely run in the complete opposite direction."

"Not far," Edge said, bringing up his holo map. He chuckled slightly to himself. "It's right over that hill." The clone looked up at his commander with a grin. "Good call, sir."

"At least _someone_ appreciates my orders," he said, glaring at Crash. "Now, come on. We've got a refinery to blow up."

Carter's lightsaber hummed as he swung it behind his back to behead a battle droid. As soon as the movement was finished, the Padawan neatly flipped behind a super battle droid and shoved his weapon through its control panel. His foot rolled lightly as he brought his leg up to smash into another droid, its head popping off easily.

"Are you almost done, Crash?" Niner's voice was impatient.

"Demolition is an_ art_, Niner…" The bomb-happy clone explained as his light fingers moved deftly across the wires of the bomb. "I'm trying _not_ to blow us up."

"And we put our lives in the hands of the pyromaniac…" Niner grumbled, raising his rifle to destroy a droid with a single headshot.

Carter, Niner, and Edge continued to defend Crash as he wired the bomb from a seemingly limitless platoon of battle droids. Niner took up a position atop several crates and used it to snipe enemies quickly and precisely. Edge crouched behind a pillar and wreaked havoc with his heavy repeater. Carter looked at his men proudly before diving into the fray, flipping forwards and backwards, the acrobatics of Ataru confusing the battle droids in such close confines such as the refinery's gasoline production room.

A scream of pain echoed from behind them, and Carter glanced back to see the horrifying sight of blood trickling from Crash's neck. The demolitions expert fell away from the bomb, clutching at the injury and gasping for breath.

"Fall back!" Carter ordered. "To Crash! Edge, get a popper in there, buy us some time!" Almost instantly, Edge had hurled a droid popper into the crowd of droids. The small sphere activated, electrical emissions disabling the droids on contact.

"You okay?" Carter asked as he knelt next to Crash.

"I'm doing great, Commander," he wheezed, sarcasm still intact. "What about you?"

"Glad to see your sense of humor wasn't damaged," Edge chuckled.

"Crash!" Niner exclaimed, trembling hands cradling his comrade's head. The two were from the same 'batch' of clones; their sense of brotherhood was stronger than that of most clones. The terrified clone looked up at Carter, eyes pleading. "We have to get him out of here. He won't escape before the detonation."

Carter pursed his lips, glancing at the bloody wound on Crash's neck. He turned to Edge. "Can you finish arming the bomb?"

He nodded. "Yes, Sir."

The Padawan touched Niner's shoulder. "Get him out of here and a safe distance away from this place. Radio for evac, and for Force's sake, get him to a medic ASAP. I'm not losing any of my men today, you hear me?"

Niner nodded. "Yes, Sir." He slung Crash's body over his shoulders and began to run for the exit.

"Commander!" Crash shouted, wincing in pain. "Edge!"

The two remaining members of the squad turned to face the clone, expecting some sort of final words in case Crash didn't survive.

"Red wire crosses over the blue. Remember that."

* * *

**Sorry, I know it's short! :(**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Heartbreak

"Ma'am, we've received word from the surface that the refinery has been destroyed and General Marek's troops are making a successful push. We should have control of the beach within the hour."

"Thank you, Swift. Prepare to send word to Master Yoda for reinforcements," Ahsoka ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am. General Marek wishes to speak with you, if you could make your way to the comm room. Force knows how long he has to talk before he has to make the final push."

Ahsoka nodded and made her way to the room, where Kento's holographic form flickered due to interference caused by the battle. "Hello, Master Marek," the Togruta said, bowing in respect.

"Hello, Ahsoka," Kento replied, his voice sounding hurried. "We're making our push. With that refinery blown, we have just one command post to take before the beachfront can be claimed for the Republic. Tell Master Yoda that his men can come in from behind when you contact him."

"Yes, Master." She smiled. "Give Carter a high five for me. For a job well done."

"Well, that was another thing I wanted to talk to you about," Kento said solemnly.

Ahsoka's heart sank at the gloomy tone of Kento's voice. "What's wrong?" she asked, hysteria creeping into her voice. "What happened to him?"

"Ahsoka, we-"

"Did he get shot? Blown up? What happened?"

"We don't know!" he exclaimed.

"How can you _not know_?" Ahsoka exclaimed. Unshed tears stung her eyes. "He's your Padawan, Kento! You _need_ to know!"

"You don't think I want to? Carter's more than my Padawan, Ahsoka! He's like my son!" The Master took a breath. "We lost contact with him. We don't know if he escaped before the blast. Two of his squadmates survived, but they say he ordered them to flee before the bomb was armed. He and another clone stayed to finish the job."

"No, he _has _to be alive. I haven't felt him become one with the Force."

"Neither have I, Ahsoka. But that could mean he could be being subjected to something much worse." Kento's hologram looked around. "I have to go, young one."

Ahsoka shut off the transmission without a goodbye, burying her face in her hands. "Carter… You promised," she whispered. She forcibly pulled herself together, shouting for Swift.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"The two clones who survived the refinery's explosion… the ones in Commander Draik's squad… I want them on this ship, front and center. ASAP."

* * *

"You just _left him_?" Ahsoka asked incredulously, her voice rising in pitch as well as decibel.

The one with the goatee, Niner, nodded timidly. "Yes, ma'am. Like I said, _under orders_."

"You couldn't just abandon orders this once?"

"Ma'am, it's not that simple-"

The trooper with the spiky hair cut in weakly. Ahsoka would have taken more pity on him, what with the fact that he was attempting to speak while a thick bandage was wrapped tightly around his neck, if Carter hadn't been MIA at the moment. "Ma'am, you know the commander more than anyone else. You know that if Niner hadn't gotten me out of there, if I had died back there, he would be crushed. General Marek assured he wasn't dead, so if his life and mentality are both still intact, didn't this work out for the best?"

Ahsoka sighed, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, ma'am," Niner assured. "You're worried about him. So are we."

"Not to mention, there's no need to apologize to us. We're just common grunts, ma'am." Crash strained a smile.

"Carter thinks you're more than that. That's enough to warrant an apology for me." She allowed a small smile.

"So what are you going to do now, General?" Niner asked.

"I'm going to look for him. He's somewhere in that wreckage."

Niner closed his eyes for a moment. "Ma'am, I hope I don't seem like I'm overstepping rank by asking this of you, but… Could you bring me along? I know where his last known location was, and I can't help but feel like it's my fault."

"Your fault?" Crash cut in. "I'm the one who got shot."

"Well, there's no way I'm bringing _you_ with," Ahsoka said to Crash. "Carter gave me a reason to be mad at him by going MIA. I don't want to give him a reason to be mad at _me_ because I brought an injured member of his squad into this."

"Ma'am, if you are mad at him, and he is mad at you, you'd be about even, right?" Crash attempted to reason.

Ahsoka just shook her head and let the corners of her lips quirk upwards to form a small smile. "I like to have the advantage." She turned to Niner. "You, however, are coming with me. I need your memory."

Niner saluted. "Yes, Ma'am!"

* * *

Carter groaned, wiping dust off of his face with the back of his hand, as he regained consciousness. He glanced around at his surroundings from his flattened position on the floor. He and Edge had run as fast as they possibly could, but without Crash, the timing for the detonation was off. They had still been in the facility when it had blown.

Rubble was scattered throughout the area, and Carter could see a bit of daylight shining through cracks in the durasteel ceiling. He was pinned beneath a large chunk of plasteel, and he grunted as he used the Force to hurl it up and away from his body. Slowly, he brought himself up into a sitting position, flexing muscles and feeling for broken bones. As far as he could tell, he'd fractured a rib, which could be easily fixed through the Force. He'd wait until Kento reached him, however. His Master was an expert at thoroughly healing injuries, where Carter could barely fix a papercut.

Satisfied that he was able to commute, Carter attempted to stand. However, all he could hear was the sound of failing circuits and whirring gears. Wincing, he glanced down at his prosthetic leg. It _looked_ fine. It _felt_ fine. But _something _had happened to cause the programming contained in the prosthetic to fail.

"Crap!" he shouted angrily, slamming a fist on the metallic floor.

A faint coughing sound from behind Carter reached his ears, followed by a weak, "Commander?"

"Edge!" Carter exclaimed. He looked around wildly for his squad member. "Where are you?"

"Under a whole lot of rubble, Sir." The clone gasped in pain. "Can't move."

Carter shook dark bangs out of his eyes and sighed. "Just keep talking, Edge. I'll find you." He followed the sound of Edge's voice to a pile of crates behind him, and dragged himself inch by inch closer to the clone. Upon reaching the crates, Carter used a massive Force push to lift them up and about a hundred yards away. Edge looked up at him weakly.

"Hey, Sir."

"Oh, _blast_, Edge…" Carter whispered, staring in shock at the durasteel pole that had impaled Edge.

"No need to tell me how bad, Sir," Edge managed. "I know there's not much left for hope right now."

Carter could feel his throat tighten at the words. "N-no, don't say that." His voice was barely audible.

"Well, I _will_ say that it's been a pleasure serving under you, Commander. Best assignment I could ask for." He forced a smile, blood beginning to pool at the lifted corners of his mouth.

"Edge, hold on! Come on! The boys need to see you again. You can't leave 'em like this!" Carter mentally cursed at himself when he heard his voice break.

Carter heard the voice of Jango Fett echo once again throughout the chamber, loudly. However, it was not Edge.

"COMMANDER!"

It was Niner. Carter breathed a sigh of relief as his squadmate rounded the corner, followed closely by Ahsoka. He waved both over solemnly, watching Niner's expression turn sorrowful once he caught sight of Edge.

Ahsoka kept a professional front, giving Carter's hand a light squeeze before keeping her distance.

"Edge?"

"Niner…" he coughed, sending spatters of blood across his already bloodstained armor. His head began to drop- slowly, lifelessly- to the ground. Carter could feel the pain in his chest, like someone had taken a dagger to his heart and twisted it painfully.

"Edge! Come on, don't do this to me! Wake up! Edge!" Niner shouted at his comrade's lifeless corpse, expressing his grief through anger.

Ahsoka took Carter's hand. "I'm sorry."

He said nothing; Carter just stood there, staring at the heartbreaking scene before him, trying desperately to stay calm.

"At least you're okay," she said softly, squeezing his hand.

He tore his eyes from Niner and Edge to look into the sapphire eyes he'd fallen in love with, finding only a small amount of comfort within them. "Okay?" he whispered. "No. I'm not."

* * *

"Nice work, Snips," Anakin said proudly. "Looks like you didn't need my help after all. Kento's victory set the stage for the Republic's eventual victory over Kashyyyk."

"Yeah," Ahsoka said, biting her lip.

"What's wrong, then?" he asked, frowning. "I'd have thought you'd be a little happier about this. And from what I hear, Carter not only survived, but he's on _your_ ship."

"Yeah. Well Carter's what's bothering me."

"Look, you're in an empty comm room and your secret is safe with me. Talk to me."

"One of his squadmates died back there. He's hardly spoken to me since, only to Crash and Niner. And he's been holed up in his quarters for two hours."

"Well, he's obviously been hit hard by the loss; I don't see what's so bad about it."

"Master, I don't think you understand. He should be talking to me about it, of all people."

"Oh, I understand," Anakin assured. "Trust me. And if he won't come to you, maybe you should come to him."

"Meaning?"

"Next time you get a break, make the trip to his quarters and let him talk. Don't dominate the conversation, just _listen_. Guys like that."

Ahsoka frowned. "Okay, if you say so."

"Then go, already. I'll talk to you later, Snips." He cut the transmission.

She exited the comm room and turned to Swift. "I'm going to Commander Draik's quarters to discuss Jedi business," she explained. "Is that okay?"

The XO nodded. "We're just about to make the jump to hyperspace so you should have quite a bit of free time. But if we need you, I'll contact you on your comm. Keep your channel open just in case."

Ahsoka nodded. "Of course." She strode away, taking the elevator down to the barracks level of the ship. The door to Carter's quarters was sealed, and he made no response when she knocked. She rolled her eyes and punched in an executive override code. The joys of being the commanding officer of her own ship. The door slid open to reveal Carter sitting on the edge of his bunk. Green eyes glanced up at her, and she saw his shoulders rise and fall with a silent sigh.

She closed the door behind her as she stepped in. "Hey."

He tried to smile, but failed. "Hey."

"How you holding up?"

"Bad," he replied bluntly.

"You know, he saved Crash's life. He died a hero. I know that doesn't take away the pain, but I think that's how Edge would have wanted to go."

Carter was silent for a long while, staring into space. "I promised them," he whispered finally.

"What did you promise?" Ahsoka prodded gently.

"That I wouldn't let them get hit. That I would block any blast that came their way. I failed them. I failed Crash, and Edge. And in failing them, I failed Niner as well. It's all my fault."

"You know it's not."

"If I hadn't ordered Crash and Niner away- or if I'd sent Edge with them… Or better yet, if I'd stopped Crash from getting hit… It would all be different!"

"Carter…" she sighed, sitting next to him on the bunk and taking a calloused hand in her own. "That's what you're gonna feel. The responsibility of command is tough, I understand. When things go bad, the first person you're gonna blame is yourself. Truth is, there are hundreds of 'what if' scenarios, but you and I both know that the Force keeps the balance of life in whichever way it chooses. And what happened was the way fate decided it would be."

"I know," he said quietly. "But… Ahsoka, it _hurts._

"Carter, it's just you and me," she said softly. "It's okay to let the walls down."

The first tear slid down his cheek, before more joined. She simply pulled him into her arms, kissing his cheek as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and simply _cried_.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hope

Full circle. That was the thought that kept running through Carter's brain as he circled around his opponent, dancing around her in a dance of death. His blue lightsaber was upraised in an offensive stance in front of him, just barely an inch away from the twin blades that were, at the moment, his biggest threats.

His stance was a cross between Ataru and Shien, as was hers. As they had grown together, so had they mirrored each others' every aspect. Carter flashed a grin, and, upon receiving one in return from Ahsoka, plunged his blade toward her. She instantly spun away, dancing around his blade with the grace of Ataru before striking back with the aggressiveness of Shien. He ducked under one green blade before meeting the yellow one with his own, the lightsabers hissing on impact.

"You _did_ turn down the blade intensity, right?" he asked, cocking a dark eyebrow at her through the blue and yellow lights.

"Oh, shut up," Ahsoka replied with a roll of her sapphire eyes, pulling back one blade to strike with the other. Carter leapt over and out of reach easily before striking backwards, subsequently and unintentionally flipping his lightsaber hilt around in his hand. The reverse grip.

"Look what you're doing to my form," he said with a _tsk._

She shrugged. "Not my fault you can't handle it."

"Oh, I can handle it, it's just sloppy."

"Remember who won the first time we did this," she replied. "Who was sloppy then?"

Carter pretended to think for a moment, causing a brief pause in combat before Ahsoka attempted to take advantage. He simply jumped out of the way before sending her a little farther off with a Force push. "Still you, because you didn't turn down the _intensity_."

"_Relax_ . It's turned down, as you'll feel in a few minutes when I beat you."

"Nah, that thing ain't gonna touch me." At that moment, he felt a sharp jab at his thigh, and saw that in his focus on the green blade, the yellow one had slipped through his defenses and hit his leg. The green one was now at his neck, and he embarrassedly let his lightsaber drop.

"You were saying?"

"Okay, okay... not fair. It was two lightsabers against one."

"It was your overconfidence at the end that screwed you over, hotshot."

He smiled at her then, memories flooding his mind. When he had walked into this exact room two years prior, he'd had no idea he was about to meet the most amazing person of his life.

"What?" she asked quietly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He took her hand gently in his, entwining their fingers and pulling her over to a doorway hidden in the shadows. "This is where it all started."

She grinned. "Who woulda known, huh?"

He raised his arm to cup a dark cheek in his hand, tracing over full lips with one thumb. "I _knew_, from the moment I first looked into those eyes, that you were something special."

Her fingers threaded through dark hair, pulling him downward gently to touch his forehead with hers. "I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Force, Carter... You don't know how much you mean to me."

His hands found her waist, and her bare skin tingled at his touch as it never failed to do. "Trust me, I do," he whispered back, pressing his lips to hers. He pulled back at that moment, pulling her with him until they were both leaning against the wall behind him. "The galaxy's going insane, Ahsoka. You're the one thing that I can count on to never change," he smiled down at her. "Unless you're PMS-ing. "

"Funny," Ahsoka said, rolling her eyes again and punching him lightheartedly.

He shrugged. "Exactly what I mean. You smile, you say you love me, and you hit me."

"Only when you deserve it," she explained.

He pulled away from the wall, taking her hand in his. "Come with me. I wanna show you something."

* * *

Kento didn't regret his decision to send Carter back to Coruscant. Now that Master Yoda had arrived, he knew that his Padawan's feelings would have been read like an open book. However, Kento was now afraid for his own feelings. Yoda had brought Mallie along, and it was all Kento could do not to take her into his arms and hold her, especially after her long absence from his life.

When she'd strode down the ramp of the landing ship ahead of a large company of Clone troopers, he was shocked to say the least. She had just smiled sweetly at him as if nothing was wrong; she'd always been good at that. He'd felt her touch him through their mental bond, telling him to shut his mouth, which had fallen open upon seeing her.

But now that Yoda had finished talking with him, Kento was ready for his reunion with her after an agonizing two months. He ducked under a branch, heading for the secret place that they'd planned to meet after all the discussions had taken place. She had beaten him there, and as soon as he was within range, she pounced on him with a crushing embrace. Kento picked her up, spinning her around and pressing his lips to her cheek. "Force, I've missed you."

She smiled, kissing him sweetly on the mouth before touching their foreheads. "I've missed you more," she replied with a playful grin. "And I have something to tell you."

He shrugged. "Well? I'm right here."

Mallie sighed, tightening her grip around his shoulders. "You're going to be a father, Kento."

He blinked. "W- What?"

"I'm pregnant."

Kento struggled to take a breath, a disbelieving look coming across his features. "Really?"

She nodded, smiling encouragingly, hoping for a positive response. She received what she was looking for.

A grin split Kento's face as he pressed his lips tenderly against hers, a few hot tears stinging his eyes. "This is incredible."

"I was afraid you'd freak out," Mallie admitted.

"Freak out?" he repeated incredulously. "No. You just made me the happiest man in the galaxy."

* * *

Ahsoka quirked one eyebrow upward, confused. "What are we doing?" She glanced out at the Coruscant skyline, filled with air traffic even at the late hour.

"Well, I think we're standing on a roof, but I'm not so sure," Carter winked, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes with a smile.

"What's so special about this rooftop?" she asked.

"Nothing yet," Carter said. "But it will be."

"Enough with the whole 'mystic situation' crap, Carter. What's going on?"

He ran a hand through his own hair anxiously. "Wow, this is a lot harder than the vids make it look."

She frowned. "What?"

He started pacing back and forth without answering, before finally spinning around. "Screw it," he said. "I'll just do it." Before Ahsoka could ask just how hard he'd hit his head to bring on such behavior, he had dropped to the ground. Alarmed, Ahsoka first bent down to see if he was okay, before she realized he had gone down intentionally. Before she realized that he was holding a tiny black box in his hands. Before she realized that the opened box displayed a plain yet beautiful silver ring. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Oh Force... Carter..." she trailed off, speechless.

He smiled nervously. "Ahsoka Tano, will you marry me?"

* * *

Crash and Niner dove behind the cover provided by a fallen tree, barely dodging the blaster-fire that peppered the beach head. The droids were pushing even stronger than before, and confidence was slipping for most of the troops. Crash glanced at his comrade, holding out a fist. Niner let a smile slip onto his face as he stacked his own fist atop Crash's, remembering the times the two, along with Edge, had stacked fists before tough missions.

"For Edge, then, eh?" Niner asked.

"For Edge," Crash confirmed. He emptied his DC-14 of a burned out cartridge, replaced it, and vaulted over the fallen tree trunk. He took a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin with his teeth, and launched it at a squad of droids, smiling when the explosion tore them apart, metallic body parts flying in all directions. He barrel-rolled through the destroyed droids, grabbing an unsuspecting super battle droid from behind and tackling it to the ground. The droid began to mumble confusedly, but Crash ignored it. He took out a hydrospanner and opened the control panel on the SBD's back. Pulling a detpack from his belt, Crash worked it into the wires of the droid before screwing the panel back on. The droid stood, heading back to hold the line with his fellow droids. As soon as he reached them, Crash pressed the detonator button. The resulting explosion lit up the separatist ranks in orange and yellow.

Meanwhile, Niner had scaled a tree up to the first branch, where he now perched with his sniper rifle in hand. He picked off droids with an expert aim, watching each one fall with satisfaction. "This one's for Edge, you bastards," he would growl with every squeeze of the trigger. Triumphantly, the two clones felled over a hundred droids before the battle was wearily halted, and the droids retreated to the opposite beach head.

"So we held out today," one clone said back at base camp that night. "They're just gonna come back tomorrow. What's the point?"

"The Wookiees won't stop fighting until their planet is liberated," Crash said. "We stand a fighting chance."

"We've lost too many men," the clone continued. "Why should we sit here and continue to waste-"

"Don't talk to either of us about losing men!" Niner said angrily. "We lost our squadmate in that refinery explosion. I'm not letting my brother's sacrifice go to waste, and neither should you."

Crash held out a fist, and Niner stacked his on top. "It gives us something to hope for," the demolitions expert said quietly. He nodded towards the two stacked fists, and the dubious clone placed his own balled up hand atop theirs. One by one, the other clones joined in, until an entire platoon had their fists atop one another's.

"For Edge?" Crash whispered.

"For Edge," Niner replied.

Then, miraculously, the entire platoon echoed, "For Edge!"

And Crash and Niner just _knew_ that Edge, wherever he was, could hear them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning: some PG-13 stuff in this next chapter.**

* * *

Ahsoka swallowed hard, a sudden sensation of dizziness washing over her as she looked down at Carter. He was still bent on one knee, still looking imploringly at her.

Was he serious? Everything about the situation- his expression, his passion, his tone of voice- told her he was. But how could he be? She was sixteen. He was seventeen. Sure, they were old enough for marriage by Coruscant's standards, but that didn't automatically mean that they _should_ get married. They were in the middle of a galaxy-wide war, a war that demanded their full focus and attention.

She sighed. "I... Carter..." she searched for the words. "I don't know if we can handle that right now."

His face fell. "Why not?"

Ahsoka felt an ache in her chest as soon as she saw the emotion in his perfect green eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Before you get the wrong idea, you have to know that I love you. More than anything." She reached down to take his hand and pull him to his feet, pressing her lips to his cheek comfortingly before continuing. "But don't you think we're a little young? I'm still trying to sort out what these feelings mean, as amazing as they are. Remember that it was only two years ago that I was afraid of falling in love. And we're at war! I hardly see you as it is. The galaxy is falling apart right in front of us, and we're in the middle of it. Things are just... they're too uncertain right now."

Carter glanced down at their joined hands, running his thumb back and forth across the skin of her hand with a touch gentle enough to send shivers up and down her spine. He said nothing as he kissed the back of Ahsoka's hand; his emerald eyes, staring deep into her sapphire ones, told her what words couldn't say. He continued kissing up her arm, tracing circles on the small of her back with his fingertips. She shivered involuntarily as he lingered on her neck, and gripped his shoulder tightly as she bit back a moan.

"Stop teasing," she growled, jerking his face by the chin to meet hers. With all the force she could muster, Ahsoka rammed her mouth to his. Carter accepted the kiss wholeheartedly, pressing his toungue to her lips in a silent question of permission. She almost immediately parted her lips for him, this time unable to contain the groan as she dug her nails into his hair. His hands were getting dangerously low on her back, and one of them had managed to find its way inside her shirt. The feeling of bare skin against skin was too much, and Carter pulled back to return to Ahsoka's neck, this time with his teeth.

"Carter..." she breathed. "We... We need to... to stop."

He pulled back, eyes widening as he realized how far they'd already gone, and how far they would have gone had they not stopped. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just... I was trying to..."

"Shh," she said soothingly. "It's hard."

Carter sighed, running his fingers along her cheekbone. "In a galaxy full of chaos, don't you realize that the one thing that _is_ certain, and will always remain certain, is what we have? Our love? I don't know a lot, but I know that _this_ is real."

She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his chest. "I know."

"Ahsoka, I know you want to wait until after this war is over, but what if we don't get that chance?" A lump formed in her throat as she considered the possibility. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life, even if the rest of my life isn't that long."

Ahsoka didn't say anything. She couldn't. She blinked back tears as she tightened her grip around his shoulders.

"Marry me, Ahsoka," he said pleadingly.

The tears that had been brimming in her eyes finally escaped, and she pulled back to press her lips against his. "Okay," she said quietly. Carter smiled, a lone tear trailing down his cheek, before pulling her closer to him, letting her bury her head in the crook of his neck, and sobbing with her, both teens overcome with emotion. Carter held her tightly, for some reason fearing that if he let go, he would lose her forever.

* * *

Anakin sat down in his quarters aboard the _Resolute_. He couldn't stop thinking about what he'd discussed with the chancellor. About saving people from the icy grip of death.

"_Is it possible to learn this power?"_

"_Not from a Jedi."_

Not from a Jedi? The Jedi were powerful enough to know all aspects of the Force. Anakin knew that more than anyone. So if it was impossible to learn it from them, it wasn't that they didn't know how. It was that they refused to teach the methods.

He wasn't surprised. In fact, he'd been expecting that for months. Anakin had been losing faith in the Jedi more and more lately. He'd been learning to lean less on the support of the Order as a whole, and more on certain individuals, and even the list of people he trusted was dwindling. He trusted Obi-Wan, but knew that if worst came to worst, Anakin would be put at odds with his old master. Ahsoka he put above all other Jedi. She was his student, and he knew his influence over her made her the most loyal of his allies. And if he could trust Ahsoka, he could trust Carter. The boy had already trusted him with the biggest secret he could keep. A secret that Anakin supported wholeheartedly.

"_Master Skywalker?"__Carter's voice came loud and strong as he confronted the Chosen One in the Jedi Temple hangar._

_Anakin smiled at the young man. "Carter!" he exlaimed, pleasantly surprised. "Good to see you. It's been too long."_

"_I agree, Master," he replied with a grin. "But I haven't come up for small talk. Well... We _can_ small talk if you want, but I'd like to get to the point first." Anakin gave him a look that told him to continue, and the teenager took a deep breath. "I really wanted to make this right, and wanted to be a gentleman about it, and since I don't know who her parents are..." Carter stopped, ran a hand through his hair, and swallowed before starting over. "Sorry. I was just wondering... since you're kind of the closest thing to family to her... like an older brother... I mean you are her guardian."_

_Anakin chuckled. "Say what you need to say, Carter."_

_He rocked back and forth on his heels. "Well, I was hoping that I could have your permission to marry Ahsoka."_

_The older Jedi rose his eyebrows in genuine surprise. "Marry my student? You _do_ realize that it's against the Code, right?"_

"_Master, we've had this relationship against the Code for a little under three years now. We get the risk. And I know you don't have a problem with it. I know your views on attatchments, Ahsoka tells me all the time."_

_Anakin laughed. "Well, you're right about my views on attachments, but you marrying my Padawan is something completely different. I have to know that you're going to treat her right."_

"_Master, you know I will."_

_He nodded. "I do. I was just testing your commitment. And your resolve. You go ahead and propose, Carter, you have my permission. But I can't help whether or not she says yes."_

_Carter shuddered visibly. "That's what I'm afraid of."_

The Chosen One chuckled quietly to himself as he remembered the memory. Even if he couldn't trust Carter completely, which he did, he could always blackmail the boy to keep him in check.

Anakin felt a chill run down his spine as he felt the dark spin his thoughts had taken. What was his problem lately? He could feel the beckoning hand of the dark side stronger than he ever had before. It promised him things he knew he shouldn't indulge himself in... glory, power, freedom. And he _liked_ it.

And he feared for his soul. Because he _knew _he wasn't strong enough to resist. He was going to do anything to save Padme, and that included turning his back on everything he stood for.

* * *

The wedding was a quiet one, with no one present aside from Padme Amidala, who was using her political status to make the marriage official, Barriss Offee, who Ahsoka had trusted with their relationship ever since the incident in which Carter almost left the Order, and the droid performing the ceremony. Carter and Ahsoka exchanged vows tearfully, hand in hand. Ahsoka kept fidgeting in her dress, worrying about how rediculous she looked dressed in nothing but white from head to toe in a simple strapless number that extended to the ground, covering her stilettos that made her only a few inches shy of surpassing Carter's height. Her groom could think of nothing but how beautiful she looked, and planned on telling her that white was her color later on that night.

His heart swelled with pride as he stared at his bride, unable to comprehend that the girl standing in front of him was going to be his wife. It didn't seem possible. Before he'd met her, marriage wasn't in the picture for his life, much less at such a young age. Sometimes he wondered if they really were too young for this. But he knew he loved her, and he loved her as much as, if not more than most husbands loved their wives. And through their Force bond, he knew she felt the same way. They were ready.

His hands shook as he held up the ring, causing him to miss a few times before he finally slipped it onto her left hand finger. They both giggled quietly at the moment like the young and in love teenagers they were, eyes full of joy and brimming with tears. Ahsoka pulled out Carter's wedding band and slid it onto his finger with finesse on her first attempt. Carter gave her hand a squeeze.

"Always gotta be one-upping me, huh?" he joked, winking.

"Get used to it," Ahsoka laughed. "You're committing to it for the rest of your life."

As soon as the droid announced that they were Mr. and Mrs., Ahsoka flung herself at Carter, their lips meeting with energy and fervor. Carter felt as if his heart was about to pound right out of his chest as he clutched his wife -his _wife!- _to him tightly.

And for one moment, everything was perfect. He didn't pay mind to the gnawing feeling in the back of his mind that it wasn't going to last. Not until that feeling became reality.

**Sorry it's so short! :/ I just figured it was about time I got the next chapter up.**


	8. Chapter 8

Crash and Niner relaxed as Republic reinforcements took over the battle, allowing them to rest back at the makeshift base that had been set up high in the platforms the Wookiees called home. They'd had precious little time to rest since their arrival on Kashyyyk, and they treated every minute of downtime like it would be their last. And, realistically, it could be.

Niner held his white helmet in his lap, trying to polish it as best he could with a small red cloth. Crash shook his head and chuckled melodiously. "It ain't gonna get any cleaner," he said bluntly. "You've been rubbing at those scuffs for hours."

The other soldier gave him a spiteful glare. "They actually happen to be fading a bit, thank you very much."

"A _bit_," Crash repeated, laughing. "Mine's got dents and scratches and dirt and all sorts of other crap all over it, and I ain't worried. They're battle scars. Shows exactly what the tinnies are dealing with." He leaned back against a metal supply crate, his reflection blurred in the dull shine of its surface, and breathed in the warm, salty air. "I wonder what Commander Draik's doing right now."

"Probably Jedi stuff," Niner said with a shrug, scrubbing at a particularly difficult dirt smudge near the top of his helmet.

He was wrong, of course. What Carter was doing at that moment was definitely _not_ 'Jedi Stuff,' but what was worse was that the nonchalant attitude of both clones made what was to come even harder to bear.

* * *

Carter smiled slightly to himself as he ran his fingertips gently down Ahsoka's bare red-orange skin, tracing the small scars that lined her back. She'd been reluctant to expose them to him the night previous, feeling that they were deformities that undermined her appearance. Carter believed it only enhanced her existing beauty. Her imperfections were exactly what made her perfect to him.

There were marks where blaster bolts and lightsaber blades had grazed her skin, creating a twisted maze of dark and light. The light of the rising sun could be barely seen through the window, giving their bodies a glowing appearance.

And that was how he felt inside. Glowing. There was a smile on his face that refused to leave. His cheeks were actually beginning to hurt because of it.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she yawned. "Whatcha smiling at?" she asked.

"You," he said bluntly, smirking as he kissed her gently on the forehead. "Morning."

"Morning," she replied tiredly. "Holy Force, I get to wake up to you now." Ahsoka smiled at her revelation.

"When we're not on duty," he reminded her. "Speaking of which, what's going on with the war? Do you know if they found Grevious?"

She shook her head. "Carter, I just got _married_. I haven't had the time to catch up on the war. I haven't even seen Master Skywalker recently, and he's stuck here on Coruscant."

He shrugged. "Just wondering. I could turn on the vid." Carter began to untangle himself from Ahsoka and the sheets of the bed, shivering as he left the warmth and comfort of the two. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a loose shirt, pulling them on quickly, and moved to power up the holographic news reports.

"-direct from Pau City, Utapau," the reporter on-screen said professionally. "We've received word that General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous. Republic reinforcements are moving in as we speak."

"Kenobi found Grievous!" he called to Ahsoka from the living room.

"He better not get away this time," she grumbled.

"You make it sound personal," Carter remarked.

"It is! He's gotten away from me before. Slippery coward."

Carter's eyebrows knotted together in a frown, and he returned to the bed, where she was still half sitting under the sheets. He gently placed an arm and leg on either side of her and hovered over her, searching her sapphire blue eyes.

"Relax," he said. "You don't need to be worrying about the war right now."

"I'm a Jedi," she replied almost instantaneously. "Of course I need to be worrying about the war!"

"You're a _newlywed,_" Carter countered. "You need to let your mind stray from Jedi business for a moment."

"It was a stretch getting married," she reminded him. "Last night, I let my mind stray from Jedi business. For you. This morning, I'm a Jedi again. It's who I am, Carter. You can't ask me to detach myself from something I'm a part of."

He sighed, dropping his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered against her lips before capturing them in a deep kiss. Ahsoka responded warmly, just as nearly any new bride would do, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He flicked his tongue against her lips, and she parted them easily. His hands wandered, free of guilt now that their marriage had granted them new rights. But his lust was short-lived, because he found solace in her perfect blue eyes, giving her a glance that could convey more than any words could have done. One hand cupped her cheek, a thumb stroking the skin gently. The other removed the sheets that separated them and found her waist, as he pulled their bodies together. She sighed, gripping his shoulders tighter.

Tighter.

Tighter.

Carter winced. He wasn't doing much to cause that much excitement in her. But she was pressing his skin down to the bone of his shoulder blades, and it hurt.

"Ow, Ahsoka!" he pulled his lips away for a moment, still cradling her body in his arms. He glanced into her eyes, and frowned. They seemed distant. She wasn't reacting to his actions anymore.

He moved his hand from her cheek to in front of her face and snapped his fingers. "Hey! 'Soka!"

She blinked. "Carter?"

"You wouldn't be in bed with anyone else, would you?" He chuckled. "What was that?"

"Master Skywalker." Ahsoka shook his head, pulling away from Carter so she sat against the headboard of the bed. She took his hand from her waist and interlocked their fingers. "He's hurting. I can feel it."

"Ahsoka, he's not even on the front lines..."

"No! Not physically. I can feel it in my heart. He's _hurting_. Bad."

"Can you tell why?"

She closed her eyes, her nose twitching as she concentrated. "Regret," she finally said. "He did something. And he regrets it. Carter, this _hurts_. His heart is breaking."

Suddenly, Ahsoka stood, unintentionally unveiling herself completely before Carter. He gripped the side of the bed to keep himself in check. The feeling passed quickly, as she clothed herself and pulled on her boots.

"Where are you going?"

She was at the door, but she turned to face him. "To see him."

"Ahsoka, we just-"

"We just got married," she finished for him. "I know. But we're still _Jedi. _He needs me." She started to walk out the doorway, but made sure to make one last point before it closed behind her.

"Besides, you'd do the same for Kento!"

* * *

Anakin flexed his fingers as he stared contemplatively at the Coruscant skyline. It was done. He served Palpatine now. The death of Mace Windu served as a sign that he could never go back.

_Darth Vader_.

It terrified even him. Anakin Skywalker was a hero. Darth Vader was not. He needed to become the face of terror. He needed to sever relationships. In choosing Padme, he had chosen death for his friends. Obi-wan, the older brother he'd never had. Ahsoka, the little sister he'd always wanted. Rex, his comrade over the years, needed to become a heartless servant of the new Empire.

A knock at the door shook him from his thoughts. He felt her presence even before he'd opened the door. Their bond was that strong.

In fact, he was sure that it was the bond that led her to him.

He pulled his lightsaber from his belt, leaving it inactivated, and felt his heart grow heavier. His thumb slid over the button that would make the blade spring to life as he contemplated the action he'd been ordered to take. She knocked again.

Anakin would look her in the eyes when he did it.. She deserved at least that much. He moved to the door and let it open. Her sapphire eyes looked up at him inquisitively, and his resolve crumpled. He hooked his lightsaber back on his belt.

"Master?"

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

"If you weren't, you wouldn't have opened the door."

"If I didn't open it, you'd still be knocking, Sni- Ahsoka." He couldn't bear to use her nickname.

She smiled. "You know me well, Master."

"How was the wedding?" She froze for a moment. "Carter told me," he chuckled. "He actually asked my permission to marry you, you know."

He watched a grin slowly spread across her face at this bit of news. "He did?" she asked, pleasantly surprised. "The wedding was great."

"And the wedding night?" Anakin gave her a joking wink.

"He was- I mean, _it_ was- incredible," she said, blushing. "I'll leave out the details."

"Please do."

"I didn't come here to talk about my personal affairs, Skyguy. Or my sex life."

He sighed. "I know. You came because you think there's something wrong."

"I came because I _know_ there's something wrong."

Anakin glanced down at his shoes. He couldn't make eye contact. "The order's... changing. It's not about helping the oppressed. It's about appeasing the politicians. I feel like their views on the Force limit our potential. There are so many things the Jedi don't understand. Things that... other groups have mastered."

What he didn't say to her she had picked up by reading between the lines and drawing upon their Force bond. "Other groups," Ahsoka repeated, gritting her teeth. She stood. "_Other. Groups_? You're talking about the Sith, aren't you?"

"Ahsoka, they aren't what the Jedi make them out to be. They use the Force as the gift that was given to them! They don't let themselves be slaves to the Force, they control it, force it to obey their will."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," she said, shaking her head. Her fists were clenched, and a vase on a table behind her began to shake with her fury.

"The Code, Ahsoka! The Code is wrong. It's designed to keep you and Carter apart! To keep me and Padme apart! You can't say you want to live by that!"

"You and Padme?" Ahsoka shook her head again. "Okay, maybe I don't agree with all the ideals of the Jedi. But the Sith are _evil_, Master! What happened to the boy from Tatooine who wanted to free the slaves?"

"He grew up. He realized that some dreams are impossible to achieve."

Ahsoka glared at him. "He turned to the dark side."

"There is no dark side. The Force is one big gray area. I'm going to do right by the galaxy with my new powers. I want you to be a part of it. Be my apprentice again. You know how good of a team we make, Snips! Think of all the planets we'll free. Think of the wars we'll end! The peace we'll bring!"

The vase behind Ahsoka shattered. "You want me to follow in your footsteps? You want me to be your _apprentice_?" Through the Force, she upturned the caffa table that sat between them. "No! You aren't the Jedi I met on Christophsis. You're not the one who taught me to do right by others, no matter the cost. You aren't my Master anymore. You say the Order's changed. You're wrong. You're the one who's changed!"

Anakin stepped toward her, clenching his fists. "Then we have nothing more to talk about. I don't want to hurt you Ahsoka. Stay away from me. From the temple. From the Jedi. I'm praying I never have to see you again. Because if I do, I'll have to follow through on the order I disobeyed today."

"Don't want to hurt me," Ahsoka repeated with a dry laugh. "Too late. You already have."

She stormed out the door, slamming it behind her, and Anakin felt their bond sever abruptly and permanently.

* * *

Crash and Niner sat with the rest of their squad and watched with sinking hearts the hooded figure of Chancellor Palpatine over the comlink. "Today," he was saying, "you men will save the galaxy! You will be heroes! You will end this war!"

The troops around them nodded and thrust their fists in the air. Crash and Niner's shoulders drooped in defeat.

"Execute Order 66."


	9. Chapter 9

This is why I like writing one shots! I don't have to worry about keeping people waiting like this! I'm sorry, for the millionth time. :(

* * *

Chapter 8: Action Plan

"We're leaving. Now."

Carter glanced up from a datapad on which he was playing a virtual dejarik game with Barriss Offee- and losing miserably- to see Ahsoka storm through the apartment door.

"Where? Why?" he asked, confused. "Wait... What?"

"We gotta leave the system. Get somewhere safe." She was stonefaced, walking about the apartment driven by a single purpose that Carter didn't understand. Her thoughts were an emotionless wall that he couldn't penetrate.

"Ahsoka, _what_ are you talking about?" Carter tossed the datapad aside. "What happened back there?"

"He's gone," she said bluntly, gathering things together, beginning to pack bare necessities as if she were running from something.

"Who's gone? Anakin? Where'd he go?"

"He's... _gone_, Carter," she stopped where she was, dropped the heat lamp she had taken from a shelf in the closet, and raised a hand to her face, covering her eyes. "He's fallen to the dark side." Her voice was barely a whisper, and her lip quivered. She was dangerously close to breaking down.

Carter was there in an instant, pulling her close and holding her tightly. His thoughts were a whirlwind, and he compensated for his unending confusion by tucking her head under his chin.

Anakin Skywalker. Hero of the Clone Wars. Pod Champion of Tatooine. The Chosen One.

Sith.

It was impossible.

Yet it had to be true. Never before had he seen so much conviction and pain in Ahsoka's eyes.

And it made him incomprehensibly angry.

Anakin Skywalker had hurt Ahsoka. Her heart was breaking at the betrayal of the man who was like a brother to her. And it made Carter sick to his stomach. There would be blood.

"We don't gotta leave. We gotta tell someone."

"It's too late," she whispered. "Master Fisto's dead. So is Master Tiin. And Master Kolar. Anakin killed Master Windu himself. All the other Council Masters are in the middle of War Zones, Carter. Who do you think we're gonna tell?"

Carter pulled back, genuinely in shock. He placed his fingers gently beneath her chin and pulled her head up to look at him. "Hey." He shook his head at her. "Don't think like that. You're Ahsoka Tano. You don't _lose_ hope. You _are_ hope- for everyone who has had the privilege to have you in their life. For those you protect, for those you fight for, for those who care about you. If you give up hope, we all give up hope. You can't do that. You have too much riding on your shoulders to think like that."

She sighed. "Yeah. I know. You're right. But this hurts. Bad."

"It's not your burden to bear. You're my wife. My best friend. You don't have to carry that weight alone."

She laughed sadly. "I'm sixteen years old and I already have years of combat experience. I'm sixteen and already married. I'm sixteen and I feel like I carry the weight of the galaxy. When I first was assigned as Anakin's apprentice, I wanted nothing more than to grow up. And now I can't go back."

"Stay positive."

"I'll try. I promise." She kissed him quickly on the cheek before pulling away. "Now, we really have to get out of here before things go south, which they will."

"We're running away?"

"I don't like the idea any more than you do, but at this point it's all we can do. We need to get as far from here as possible, maybe hide in Separatist space. I was thinking maybe we could call Lux and ask a favor or-"

"_Lux Bonteri?_" Carter asked, folding his arms. "No. No way. Not a chance."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Come on, you need to get over it."

"Get over it? He _kissed_ you. While we were together!"

"I hadn't seen you for months at that point. We were on a mission. It wasn't even a real kiss-"

"Bet it was real to him," he grumbled.

"Well, it's not his ring I'm wearing on my finger, is it?" Carter was silent for a while, letting the tension die down as he clenched and unclenched his fists. "We need somewhere to go. Where Anakin and the Sith won't find us. And that means we need to leave Republic Space."

"What about the others? The ones fighting right now? Master Yoda, and Luminara, and Shaak Ti? And Kento? Are we just going to leave them?"

"No, of course not, but-" Ahsoka trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "How are we going to tell all of them? They're scattered all over the galaxy on secure military comm channels."

"Isn't there a channel for all Jedi? The one that the council uses to talk to us on missions?"

"Yeah, but that can only be accessed by one console, and that's in the Temple. I have a feeling that the Temple's gonna be Anakin's first target."

"We'll slip in and out before anyone notices, broadcast the message. It's simple enough." He shrugged.

"That's really risky, Carter," Ahsoka said dubiously.

"Since when has risk ever stopped you?" He smiled. "We live off risk."

"This is on a whole 'nother scale, though. But you're right. Again. We know danger's coming, it's our duty to warn people. Let's go."

He slipped his hand into hers. "I'm with you the whole way."

* * *

"We knew it was coming. Hell, we've known it was coming since we set foot in the Kaminoan training centers." Crash was loading his rifle with thermal clips. Niner sat on the ground a few meters away from him, motionless.

When his brother didn't respond, Crash put down the gun. "Niner, come on. It's not a fun job, but it's what we were born for."

"Not a fun job," Niner repeated. "That's probably the most watered down way to put it. We're about to kill commanders and generals who have risked their lives for us. And as for it being what we were born for, am I the _only_ one of us who doesn't like the idea that we were born for a single murderous cause?"

"Nobody likes it. But we gotta do it." Crash pulled his helmet over his head, and Niner stared into the black visor, finding no solace.

"No, we don't."

"If you want the Chancellor after you, too, then be my guest."

Niner was silent, staring at the helmet in his hands.

Crash sighed, grabbing a rifle and handing it to his brother. "They're good leaders. I agree. But brothers stick by brothers." He stuck out his hand to help him up.

The doubtful soldier accepted the gesture reluctantly, pulling his helmet over his head.

At least he wouldn't have to look them in the eyes.

* * *

Kento marched through the woods, a company of his finest soldiers at his back. "Now, when we reach the droids' flank, I want Reaver to take the heavy cannon and split their forces. Grunt, I want you to..."

A sudden feeling of dread caused him to trail off. He sensed dark thoughts, close to him. Murderous thoughts. Some regretful, none relenting.

His lightsaber was out and sending the bullet back at Reaver before anyone could blink. The clone dropped to his knees and slumped over, motionless. The clones took half a second to register their fallen comrade before raising their rifles to kill the Jedi.

Kento propelled himself high into the air, coming down with his fist driving into the ground, the force sending tremors through the ground and knocking back the unsuspecting clones. With a quick flourish, his lightsaber cleaved through the chestplate of one clone and decapitated another on the upswing. Flashes of blue illuminated the undergrowth as blaster bolts and lightsaber impacted time and time again.

The Jedi Master paused a moment to catch his breath, eight bodies littering the landscape before him, before he leapt up into the trees, navigating his way through the jungle of Kashyyyk to warn Mallie.

* * *

Carter peeked around a pillar at the entryway of the Jedi Temple. "Oh, _stang._" He pulled his head back and turned to Ahsoka. He could still hear the sound of thousands of boots marching in unison. "Clones. Lots of 'em. We gotta move fast."

She sighed. "How could they turn on us like that? After everything we've done for them!"

Carter bit his lip and shrugged absentmindedly.

"Carter..." she said suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"

When he didn't answer, Ahsoka shoved past him to peer around the pillar herself. Her gut twisted when she saw her former Master at the head of the assault. Taking a lightsaber in each hand and clutching it tightly, she turned back around, brushing past Carter. "You're right. We'd better hurry."

He couldn't help but fear that their mission had just gotten personal.


End file.
